


show me the way home

by kamunamis



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Childhood Friends, College AU, Confessions, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Ice Cream, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24760303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamunamis/pseuds/kamunamis
Summary: “Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Kei answers, although there’s no bite to it.Tadashi giggles. “Sorry, Tsukki.”Kei wonders when Tadashi started calling him ‘Tsukki,’ instead of Tsukishima-kun, like all of their other classmates in school throughout the years. Kei likes it though, he feels like hell would freeze over if Tadashi calls him by anything else.“We should get ice cream together,” Tadashi asks.Kei flushes. “Sure? Is there a special occasion?”Tadashi shakes his head. “No. Just wanted to be with you, Tsukki.”or, tsukki pines over his childhood best friend without knowing that said best friend feels the same way
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 213





	show me the way home

**Author's Note:**

> i love tsukkiyama so much im FERAL for them.
> 
> thank you to [tara](https://itsmyusualweeb.tumblr.com) for beta'ing :)

Someone is poking Kei’s shoulder while he’s trying to study in the student area. He contemplates whether or not he should turn around and see who it is. If it were up to him, no one would be in his personal bubble.

“Tsukki!” he faintly hears behind his headphones. Kei rolls his eyes and pulls them down anyway, turning around to see none other than Tadashi, his best friend.

He’s the exception. Kei will allow Tadashi in his personal bubble whenever he likes.

“Yamaguchi,” he says flatly. Tadashi takes the seat next to him and drops his backpack down to the ground.

“Hi, Tsukki,” Tadashi says as he pulls his laptop out. “Whatcha working on?”

“Literature.”

Tadashi laughs, like he always does. Kei feels like Tadashi is the fucking  _ sun  _ with how often he’s smiling. “Cool, cool. Good luck with that. You’re so smart, Tsukki.”

Kei peers over Tadashi's laptop screen and squints. He should’ve worn his glasses, but he’d been in such a rush that he forgot. It’s a stupid mistake, and now he has to live with it until later when Tadashi drives him home.

Again, another stupid mistake - not getting his driver’s license. He didn’t need it when he was in high school, since everything was in walking distance and he didn’t even go that far. He would go to school, the library, and Tadashi’s house. Karasuno always provided a bus for the ‘away’ games.

Kei scrunches his face when he sees what’s on Tadashi’s screen. Systems Programming, or whatever it is. Tadashi told him that it’s a 300 level class, and Kei is proud of him for being  _ so smart _ that he can take a 300 level class as a freshman. Kei has his own hang-ups over his intelligence level, especially since Tadashi is a computer science major, but he knows that he’s also capable and smart. He’s an English major, and it’s his second language.

He and Tadashi are like yin and yang, with their opposite skills complementing each other.

“That doesn’t look fun,” Kei observes as Tadashi enters his code into the system.

Tadashi laughs. “I mean, it’s definitely hard. People say it’s one of the hardest classes here, but I can manage.”

Again, Tadashi is the embodiment of the sun, and also Einstein.

Kei just shakes his head and turns back to his own homework, annotating his readings for things that he needs to note or remember. One assignment down, three more until he’s done for the day. Tadashi will continue to do his homework, and Kei will take a book out and wait for him until he’s done.

It’s their normal routine, and Kei is happy. He’s happy as long as Tadashi is happy, that’s what he tells himself.

He’s been harboring a crush on Tadashi for as long as he can remember. Kei feels safe around Tadashi, warm. Kei can talk to Tadashi about anything and everything, and really he wishes that Tadashi felt the same way.

Tadashi has always been selfless, caring, hard-working. Kei has always admired Tadashi for that, and because they’ve known each other for so long, he doesn’t think that he could see himself with anyone else.

Kei has this irrational fear that Tadashi is going to grow apart from him and leave Kei in the dust. He’s already seen Tadashi grow so much from high school until now, and there’s no doubt that Tadashi is going to keep growing and flourishing. 

They continue to sit there and study until they finish their homework. Tadashi slips his laptop back into his backpack, and that’s when Kei slips off his headphones.

“Come on, Tsukki,” Tadashi says. “Let’s go.”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Kei answers, although there’s no bite to it.

Tadashi giggles. “Sorry, Tsukki.”

Kei wonders when Tadashi started calling him ‘Tsukki,’ instead of Tsukishima-kun, like all of their other classmates in school throughout the years. Kei likes it though, he feels like hell would freeze over if Tadashi calls him by anything else. 

“We should get ice cream together,” Tadashi asks.

Kei flushes. “Sure? Is there a special occasion?”

Tadashi shakes his head. “No. Just wanted to be with you, Tsukki.”

Kei’s heart flutters. He didn’t think it was possible for that to happen. Although, with Tadashi, anything could happen.

“Oh, okay,” Kei says flatly.

Tadashi beams, and the two of them head out to his car. Tadashi drives to the ice cream shop close to Kei’s house and tells him all about his day.

Kei could listen to Tadashi’s voice forever.

“Tsukki, how was your day?” Tadashi asks as he pulls into the parking lot.

“It was good,” Kei says. “I liked the lecture today.”

Tadashi laughs. “I’m glad.” He opens the door as they walk into the ice cream shop. Yachi, their former classmate and a wonderful friend, greets them.

She waves at them. “Yamaguchi! Tsukishima! Welcome!”

“Yachi!” Tadashi greets back.

“What can I get for you?” she asks, tilting her head.

Tadashi thinks for a moment. Kei looks over to him expectantly. “I’m still trying to decide,” he says. “Go pick something.”

Kei shrugs. “Okay.” He orders strawberry cake ice cream, because it’s his favorite flavor. Tadashi opts to order a caramel ice cream. Yachi hands them their bowls, and Tadashi finds a place for them to sit after he pays.

“Why are we sitting outside,” Kei says flatly. He hates being outside.

Tadashi shrugs. “I think it’s nice outside.”

“It’s cloudy.”

It’s the middle of fall, closer to summer than winter. Kei knows that Tadashi likes this weather, while Kei likes the spring.

“That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.” Tadashi digs his spoon into the ice cream, and Kei rests his chin on his hand.

Kei likes the freckles on Tadashi’s face, and the way that he scrunches his face whenever he’s thinking. He likes Tadashi’s strong personality. He could go on and on about how much he likes, more like loves, Tadashi.

“Tsukki, your ice cream is melting,” Tadashi points out.

Kei frowns. “Shit.” Not all hope is lost though, at least it doesn’t overflow the bowl. He supposes he could drink the melted ice cream.

“Are you okay, Tsukki? You’ve been acting weird today.”

Kei nods. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

Tadashi smiles back at him. “Okay, good.”

They finish their ice cream, and the drive home is mostly quiet save for the music on Tadashi’s phone. It’s different from what Kei would listen to. More… peppy and upbeat.

Figures. A peppy and upbeat guy would like that kind of music.

“Tsukki, we’re here,” Tadashi says, breaking him from his thoughts.

Kei smiles softly. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Of course,” Tadashi says. “Sleep well, Tsukki.”

Kei waves before hopping out of the car and walking to his driveway. He’s greeted by his older brother and his boyfriend when they enter the house.

“Hey, you’re home!”

Kei glares. “Aniki. Tenma.”

“How are you? How’s your boyfriend?” Akiteru asks, smirking.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Kei retorts. He heads upstairs and drops his backpack on the ground. He finds his glasses on his bedside table and puts them on before checking his phone.

Mostly social media notifications, but he ignores all of them in favor of the two new texts from Tadashi that pop up now.

_ i made it home _ , one of them reads. The next one is a cat gif, because Tadashi is the symbol of all things pure. Kei texts back a simple heart emoji.

“Knock knock,” Akiteru says.

Kei rolls his eyes. “What do you want?”

“Can’t I just spend time with my little brother?”

“No. I’m not little. I’m nineteen,” Kei says. “Why are you home?”

Not that he isn’t happy to see his brother, it’s just that Akiteru never comes home anymore. He might be a little bit salty about that.

Akiteru laughs. “Tenma and I got engaged, we’re telling Mom later tonight.”

“Oh cool,” Kei answers. “Now go away, I want to read my book.”

“Alright, alright, but first - are you and Yamaguchi dating now or…?”

Kei glares. “It’s the same.”

Akiteru frowns. “When are you going to tell him how you feel?”

“Never,” Kei blurts. “Tadashi and I are fine, I don’t need to disrupt our relationship by telling him I like him.”

Akiteru holds his chest and fakes pain. “You’re killing me, Kei. You’re killing your older brother.”

Kei rolls his eyes and waves Akiteru off. “Not my problem. Shoo.”

Akiteru leaves and closes his door. Before he picks up one of his many books, he sees another text from Tadashi on his phone. Yet another cat gif.

Kei scrolls through the built-in gif finder to text Tadashi another one back. Sure, he could’ve ignored the text, but he’ll always reply to Tadashi.

God, he’s so whipped for Tadashi, it’s pathetic. It’s pathetic to be pining over him like this.

He doesn’t know when the crush first started. His best guess is high school, when Tadashi confronted him about his lack of effort in volleyball. It was a turning point in their relationship - where Tadashi was no longer following Kei but instead walking alongside him.

Bittersweet memories, he thinks.

After a few minutes of trying to read his book and being unable to focus, he puts the book back on his nightstand and takes his glasses off before taking a nap. He ends up sleeping until his mother wakes him up for dinner.

Akiteru and Tenma talk about their good news, and although Kei knows that he should definitely be happy for his brother, he can’t help but feel jealous.

He didn’t think that his crush on Tadashi would eat him alive like this.

-

Kei doesn’t say anything to Tadashi when he picks him up the next morning. Tadashi is in a chipper mood, happily chattering away about how his morning has been going. Kei isn’t really paying attention since he’s too tired; instead, focusing on Tadashi’s voice once again.

Tadashi has always been a morning person. Kei couldn’t count on one hand the number of times Tadashi would come over in the early morning, happy and upbeat.

He pulls into the parking lot and scans for a space to park.

“Just pick one, Yamaguchi,” Kei says, wanting to head to the library to study a little bit before his next class.

“Sorry, Tsukki,” Tadashi laughs. “It has to be big enough.”

Kei rolls his eyes and stares out the window until Tadashi parks the car. Once he does, he unlocks the car door and starts walking toward the library building.

“Tsukki, are you alright? You’ve been acting a little weird,” Tadashi says, catching up to him.

Kei shrugs. “Yeah. I think I’m fine. Just tired.” It’s not entirely a lie, but it’s not the full truth either. He just wants to tell Tadashi how he feels about him without… without ruining their friendship.

He’s scared, and he knows it. Tadashi has always been good to him, he doesn’t want to think about the possibility, albeit a slim one, that Tadashi won’t be there for him anymore. Kei shakes his head. He’s been thinking about this too much.

“Did you sleep too late again?” Tadashi pouts. “You should stop doing that.”

Kei doesn’t say anything in response and lets Tadashi follow him until he gets to the computer science building.

“Bye, Tsukki!” Tadashi says, giving him a hug. “See you later!” He walks away, and Kei watches him leave until Tadashi’s friends walk next to him.

He grabs the earbuds that are in his pocket and slips them in his ears. He plugs them into his phone and scrolls through his Spotify until he reaches the playlist that Tadashi made on his phone. They share a Spotify account, because they’re both broke college students.

Listening to Tadashi’s music, even if it’s a stark contrast to what he normally listens to, makes him feel safe. It reminds him of all the happy memories that he’s shared with Tadashi.

There’s a tapping on his shoulder, and Kei takes his earbuds out, turning to face them. It’s just Hinata, an old teammate from high school.

“Hey, Tsukishima!” Hinata says, beaming. “Haven’t seen you in a while!”

Kei continues walking to the library building. “Go away, Hinata.”

Hinata ignores that, like he always does. Kei wonders how Hinata still tolerates him after all these years. “Nice to see you too, Tsukishima. Where are you going? Where’s Yamaguchi?”

Kei could feel himself blush at the mention of his best friend’s name.

“He went to class. I’m going to the library to study, unlike you,” Kei deadpans.

Hinata frowns. “Hey! I’ve gotten better at studying! Yachi-san and I study together! Kageyama joins us too sometimes.”

Kei suddenly gets hit with a wave of jealousy. Hinata and Kageyama have been dating since their second year of high-school. He might dislike them, but that still doesn’t stop him from being jealous of their relationship.

“Oh, cool.” He stops in front of the library building, and he looks down at Hinata. “See you around.”

“Bye, Tsukishima!” Hinata calls out, and Kei slips his earbuds back in before walking into the library and sitting at one of the desks in the far end.

He opens one of his textbooks to start studying, but as time passes he gets frustrated. Kei can’t focus on his studies, because he’s thinking about Tadashi instead. It happens to him every now and then, so he’s used to it, but it’s… He wouldn’t use the word ‘annoying,’ maybe mildly inconvenient.

He’s always thinking about Tadashi. He didn’t think that he was one of those lovesick fools that’s always thinking about the people they’re interested in, but oh well. Not like Kei could do anything about it.

Kei huffs and slides the textbook back into his backpack, not really caring whether or not he studies right now. He checks his phone to see if there are any new messages or any reminders. Just a meme from Akiteru and a reminder to start a paper after his classes today.

Nothing from Tadashi, not that he was expecting anything anyway since Tadashi doesn’t check his phone in class.

Kei grabs his backpack and starts walking out of the library, since it’s time for his own class.

-

He walks back to the library once his classes get out, ready to start his paper. Tadashi comes into the library an hour later, and sits next to him. A few other patrons give him a nasty look for the sudden noise, and Tadashi sheepishly apologizes.

“Hi, Tsukki,” he whispers. “What are you working on?”

“A paper,” Kei answers. He doesn’t want to lose his train of thought. “Why?”

“Just curious, that’s all,” Tadashi says.

Oh how Kei desperately wants to grab Tadashi’s hand.

Kei hums in response and starts typing on his paper again. He stops when he gets to the third page. It’s not as much as he would’ve liked to get done, but a good enough starting point for a paper due the following week. He gets his book out, and Tadashi taps his shoulder.

Kei turns to look at him, and Tadashi hands him a sticky note. 

_ you wanna hang out at your place later tonight? sleepover like always? i have extra clothes dw about it _

Kei grabs the pen in between them and scribbles in a response.

_ Sure _ .

He hands the note back to Tadashi before reading his book again. He watches Tadashi enter his code into the system in the corner of his eye every now and then, and really, Kei thinks it should be illegal for Tadashi to be this cute.

Fuck, he’s got it bad for Tadashi. Really bad. He didn’t think it would be this bad. Kei thinks that maybe it’s time for him to confess.

How does one confess their feelings? Kei’s never done it before. He knows that it’s a special thing. Akiteru wouldn’t shut up when he confessed to Tenma. Hinata didn’t shut up either when talking about Kageyama. He’s pretty sure that he tuned out when they were talking about how they confessed to their boyfriends. Not that their confession methods would be useful for him anyway, he has an inkling feeling that their methods are  _ too much _ .

He and Tadashi are quite simple. Maybe Kei shouldn’t be working himself up over this. There’s no need for anything extravagant. Just a simple ‘I like you in a romantic way,’ should suffice.

_ It’s like ripping off a bandage _ , Kei thinks. Although, ripping bandages isn’t a very good analogy, since that hurts a lot.

“What are you looking at?” Tadashi whispers.

Kei blushes. “Nothing, Yamaguchi. Just finish your homework.”

“Okay, Tsukki.”

-

Akiteru and Tenma are in the kitchen when Tadashi and Kei arrive.

“G’evening,” Akiteru says, with a mouthful of rice.

Kei scrunches his face. “Gross, Aniki.”

Akiteru says something else, but Kei doesn’t pay any attention to it. “Let’s head upstairs to my room, Yamaguchi.”

Tadashi nods and follows him upstairs. “Thanks for letting me come over,” he says. “I appreciate it.”

“You’re always welcome here,” Kei says flatly. He really does mean it. Tadashi’s home life hasn’t always been the best, and there have been countless nights where Tadashi would come over to escape that.

Tadashi smiles softly. “Still. Thanks again. Hey, you wanna play Scrabble?”

Kei laughs. “Sure.” He reaches for the game box underneath his bed, and the two of them play a few rounds before Akiteru knocks on the door and tells them it’s time for dinner.

“Race you?” Tadashi asks, with a smirk on his face.

“You’re on.”

Tadashi ends up winning. Even with Kei’s long legs, he’ll never catch up to Tadashi, who kept up with running even after the volleyball season ended for them. Not that he would admit it out loud, but Kei has definitely gained weight. Not too much, but he’s definitely lost some of that muscle.

“Oh! Tadashi-kun! You’re here!” his mother says.

Kei looks up to see his mother smiling happily. “Hi, Mom.”

“Tsukishima-san! Hello!” Tadashi says politely. “Thanks for having me here.”

His mother waves him off. “No need for that. You’re family by now.”

“Ah, thanks,” Tadashi replies.

Huh. It’s nice that his mother is supportive of Tadashi. Akiteru gives him a wink, and Kei glares at him. It’s a lovely dinner. Kei feels like he’s going to remember this forever, as Tadashi is right next to him.

He and Tadashi wash the plates afterward, and everyone else leaves them alone. Which isn’t at all suspicious.  _ Dammit, Aniki _ , Kei curses under his breath.

“This is nice, don’t you think?” Tadashi asks.

“I suppose,” Kei deadpans. He puts a plate on the dishrack before grabbing another one to scrub.

Tadashi giggles. “Yeah, it’s nice. I like being here with you, Tsukki.”

_ I like you _ , Kei wants to blurt out. He doesn’t. “I… I like being here with you too, Yamaguchi.”

Tadashi flushes red.

They finish washing the dishes and head back upstairs to hang out before bedtime. Tadashi runs off to take a shower, and Akiteru takes that as his cue to barge into Kei’s room once again. “What do you want?”

“ _ Nothing _ ,” Akiteru says, dragging the first syllable out. “You should confess to Yamaguchi.”

“I know that,” Kei snaps. “I don’t know how to. Not that he’d want to be with a loser anyway.”

Akiteru folds his arms across his chest. “Kei, you’re not a loser. Stop beating yourself up. He likes you back, I promise.”

Kei huffs. “How would you know? You’re not Yamaguchi.”

“Well, no,” Akiteru says. “I’m not Yamaguchi, but that boy has loved you forever. Ever since you guys were little, I’ve seen him follow you around like a lost puppy. It’s adorable.”

“Maybe so.”

Akiteru stretches. “Good night, little bro. I hope it goes well.” He exits the room, and Tadashi comes back from his shower.

“Hey, Tsukki,” Tadashi says as he dries his hair out with his shirt. He’s shirtless, like he always is whenever he’s about to sleep, and Kei could feel his cheeks burning.

“Hi,” Kei says awkwardly.

Tadashi doesn’t say anything back and sits down on the bed next to Kei. There’s a pause between them, but Kei doesn’t mind it. He likes their quiet moments together.

“Um,” Tadashi starts. Kei turns to look at him.

“Yeah?”

Tadashi avoids his glance. “I...I have something to tell you.”

“You can tell me anything, Yamaguchi,” Kei says.

Tadashi takes in a deep breath. “I like you, Tsukki. Like, in a ‘more than friends’ way.”

_ What? _

Kei didn’t think he was hearing that properly. Yamaguchi Tadashi, his best friend since third grade,  _ likes him _ . He could feel his ears burning now, but he can’t speak. He’s in shock.

“Please say something,” Tadashi says.

“I like you too,” Kei blurts out. “Actually, I.. I love you, Tadashi. I have for a while now.” It’s rare for him to call Tadashi by his first name, but Kei likes the way it rolls off of his tongue.

Tadashi looks up at him, beaming. “You  _ love _ me, Tsukki?”

Kei nods. He’s ecstatic. He feels like his heart is doing flips inside his chest, which doesn’t sound anatomically correct, but he can’t be bothered to care. “Can I kiss you, Tadashi?”

“Yes,” Tadashi says, leaning in closer.

Kei guides Tadashi’s chin closer and kisses him. Tadashi tastes like mint. It’s sweet, Kei doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to this. Tadashi kisses back, and soon enough they’re making out.

Both of them are a blushing, flustered mess when they pull apart.

“I love you too, Tsukki.”

Kei intertwines his hands with Tadashi’s, and they fall asleep cuddling each other.

-

Tadashi kisses him on the way out the door the next morning, and Akiteru is sitting on the sofa reading a book. Kei knows that he saw the kiss though.

“I’ll be out there in a minute,” Kei says, and Tadashi nods.

Kei turns to Akiteru, crossing his arms. “Well?”

Akiteru laughs. “Proud of you, little bro. I’m glad you’re happy.”

Kei laughs. “Yeah… me too.”


End file.
